It left a path of destruction that cost the lives of dozens and left an estimated $20 billion in damages.

Weeks after devastating winds and flooding, many along Hurricane Sandy's path are still without electricity.

Former Star intern Sarah Thompson, now a freshman at Columbia University, was witness to the preparations and impact of Sandy. This week, she shared with us her perspective on one of the most devastating natural disasters on record.

In New York City, preparing for Hurricane Sandy seemed more like preparing for Armageddon. I found Northerners’ paranoia about hurricanes quite amusing.

City residents filled up their sinks and bathtubs with water. I filled two water bottles.

New Yorkers stocked up their apartments with canned goods and other nonperishables. I bought marshmallows to make s’mores.

Maybe it was because I lived in Florida for 12 years before I moved to North Carolina, or perhaps it was because I missed 10 days of school for the Category 4 Hurricane Frances, but I didn’t see what all the fuss was about.

Hurricane Sandy was only a Category 1, expected to weaken with landfall and the cooler northern waters.

In this state of mind I cheered, along with my Columbia University peers, when school was cancelled for Monday, as the storm was set to hit the region that Monday night.

We hunkered down in our dorms, watching Netflix from pillow forts and completely neglecting our studies.

Wading through the buffeting winds and pelting rain to the dining hall was an adventure, a source of adrenaline and amusement.

Hoorah, all of our assignments had been pushed back! Hoorah, no school on Tuesday either!

But, while Morningside Heights — the uppermost tip of the Upper West Side — sustained minimal damage and kept power, other parts of Manhattan and the region fared worse.

Friends at NYU said their dorms lost power. NYU was unable to start classes until the next Monday.

Millions in the area were without power, no one was able to travel to work, and the city’s infrastructure was literally crumbling.

At first I didn’t realize the national attention that Sandy was garnering, assuming that I was caught up in a regional bubble of news. But many of my friends, from Shelby to the West Coast, texted to make sure that I was OK.

Though we were insulated from the damaging effects of Sandy at Columbia University, we weren’t insulated from a disturbing nonchalance about the massive devastation in New York City.

The preparations that I had scoffed at had aided many in a time when they were most focused on food, water, shelter and survival.

Most disturbing was my cab ride to the airport on Friday, four days after the storm’s landfall.

Four days had passed, yet few cars drove on the road, as gas was unavailable to most. Southern Manhattan eerily featured none of its characteristic lights.

Hurricane Sandy left most of New York City paralyzed and powerless, though it took me a bit longer than it should have to understand the severity of the effects.

Boiling Springs resident and former Star intern Sarah Thompson is a freshman at Columbia University. Contact her at sft2106@columbia.edu.